location tracking

[Humid Stylus]

Would be really interesting to know if changing the setting:

Code:

# Enable WiFi source
enable=false

would stop all data collection of WiFi access points as you described in your first paragraph. Also besides the BSSID is there other information being sent along as well? Say for example the MAC address of the different APs?

When I switched of the WiFi source it instead sent mobile information. Turning off one 3g or cdma made no difference. Turning off both made it send an empty query (so still contacting the server).

The information that is sent is documented in the API documentation so for WiFi it is access point MAC and signal strength (for all the visible networks) and for GSM it is celltower information.

[Baggypants]

IF .... a fifty dollar hand held gps receiver can pin point its own location ?
                  Then what is all this Microsoft style bloatware still doing in an "open source" program.?

It's because GPS is terribly, terribly slow to get an initial location fix, and doesn't work well in built up areas with tall buildings, and flat out doesn't work at all indoors. Wifi and cell tower location is inaccurate compared to GPS but does have the advantage of someone in an office sat at a desk being able to quickly find out where the nearest coffee shop that might have oat milk is located.

Fortunately we're not at the behest of Mozilla Location Services. We can all run our own Ichnaea server if we wish. https://ichnaea.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ and download the location data to populate it with. https://ichnaea.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

We could also run this service on our pinephones if we so desired.

[wibble]

The GPS is _much_ quicker and gets a more reliable fix if you use AGPS - so long as you don't mind making a web request to fetch the AGPS data.

[ergo owl]

Yesterday I decided to check if mozilla location services can locate me even though I have location services turned off on the pinephone and the answer was still yes.

I have cellular network turned off using the mechanical switch at the back of the pinephone as I am travelling at the moment and dont want to run into any cellular fees by accident. I am however using WIFI to access the internet.

The Map application could not get my location and the button for pinpointing my location was greyed out. However, when I opened the weather application the city I was in was shown and the calendar application that is using weather information was also showing the correlating weather for my location. All of this with location services turned off in the Pinephone settings menu.

I am still hoping for a future on a privacy focused phone with settings that do what they should. I still assume that when location services are off, all apps should be prohibited from using location data provided by mozilla. Or better yet, the location services provided by mozilla should be terminated while the setting is set to off.

[dukla2000]

... I am however using WIFI to access the internet....

Presumably your weather application is getting your location from your IP address? And could also refine things based on the WiFi SSID?
Or conversely, you can't expect any phone to keep your location secret if you run applications that are doing their damndest to determine your location?

[ergo owl]

Presumably your weather application is getting your location from your IP address? And could also refine things based on the WiFi SSID?

Not just presumably, certainly.

dukla2000Or conversely, you can't expect any phone to keep your location secret if you run applications that are doing their damndest to determine your location?

Why are you telling me that I cant expect a setting in the pinephone that says "Location services are turned off" to turn off location tracking services on my pinephone?

I might want to check the weather in another city and the weather app certainly doesnt need to know my location for that. Which it should not even have axcess to in the first place if the setting worked as it should.

Apps like Maps and Weather are an easy give-away to show if location services truly are on or off as they like you say, "do their damndest to determine your location". The issue is that not all apps are so upfront and will show you clearly that your location is in fact being used EVEN THOUGH you have turned off location tracking services on a device that markets itself as a privacy phone.

[KC9UDX]

Your device has no control over location reckoning by IP address. The only way you could do that is with a VPN.

[ergo owl]

Is there any reason as to why it cant though in regards to location tracking? Why doesnt it just stop the functionality of geoclue.conf and prevent data exchanges between the device and Mozilla Location Services?

[Avatars]

I removed/disabled mozilla location BS on my android. Don't need it don't want it. Gps chips work just fine without mozilla pretending they need to hold the gps chip's hands. I used dejavu location service and wifi location service as 'helpers'. They don't contact anyone in order to work with microg.

What I HAVE noticed is the mobian phosh updates are installing a "fused" blob which is EXACTLY what google is doing/screwing android with.
Until the cellular modem is isolated with it's very own switch, my guess is the devs are using the same games google is to "fuse" your modem/radios together.
There is absolutely no reason why one dipswitch should control ALL the radios. This flat out tells me privacy went out the window when the pinephone was created. I'm not sure who had to pay who what but this FUSED horse**** needs to take a flying leap along with google and co..

My rooted 1+ has a working vpn, no google anything, a proper FW, never calls home, isn't slow, fully functioning gps software, and has good battery life. I'm trying to figure out exactly what the benefit is of running another device that doesn't have those features but still uses a FUSED to **** OS, JUST LIKE GOOGLE. Seriously. Who do you think you're fooling? It aint gonna be me.
Mycroft can straightup gf itself.
I payed an extra $50 for the convergence package only to find out the dongle DOESN'T WORK without me having to desoder some crap on the board or some such nonsense.
I don't trust the pinephone. Why would you not use more modern hardware? What's so hard about installing a cellular modem SEPARATE from the other devices?
My contacts are secure on my 1+. In gnome's contacts on a pinephone? I doubt it. When I installed evolution it automatically got that info which tells me all I need to know about pinephones and their supposed security. A 4/6 digit numeric pin? That's not security that's a joke.

[KC9UDX]

Is there any reason as to why it cant though in regards to location tracking? Why doesnt it just stop the functionality of geoclue.conf and prevent data exchanges between the device and Mozilla Location Services?

Location reckoning based on IP address is not done locally in your device, at all.  It's done remotely, on the server side.